New Lease on Life
by GetWithIt
Summary: Being electrocuted is one thing, being reborn into an entirely different world is another. I can't believe I went through high school and the college application process only to die and come back as a freaking NINJA! I'm starting to think that someone, somewhere, is having a serious laugh at my expense...
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone! This will be my second story on fanfiction. I just wanted to throw some stuff like this and my first story out there for practice. Keep that in mind when you're reading! Also, if you like these I plan on updating every two weeks:)_

_P.S. This will be OC centric. I've read a few surprisingly good ones (and MANY god-awful ones) and thought I'd give my idea a shot… _

**Prologue – **

I'd always thought that my death would be pretty dull, expected even. Cancer or disease later in life, maybe a car accident, but I never thought my death would be as outrageous as it actually was. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I sat around planning my death, I just had some general expectations.

Well, as it turns out, those expectations were pretty far off. And being electrocuted in front of hundreds of people kind of puts a damper on your high school graduation.

Here's what happened: My name had just been called and I was _extremely_ relieved. Having a class of almost 600 seniors makes graduation a tad tedious. Nonetheless it was finally my turn and I walked on shaky legs to the stage at the front. After standing in line with my row for a good ten minutes I was finally allowed to move. Each row had to stand as their names were called and I just happened to be the very last person in my row.

We had been there, either sitting or standing, for nearly four hours. My row was the second to last to have their names called, which was the main reason why absolutely no one was paying attention.

I sighed in relief when my name was called, just a few steps more and I'd be off the stage with my diploma.

As I walked quickly to the principle's podium I wiped my sweaty palms on my gown and focused on not tripping. I don't usually get nervous for those kinds of things, but I bet anyone would worry about tripping and making a fool of themselves if they were as tired as I was. The too-big gown didn't help either.

Anyway, I was just about to grab my diploma from Mr. Philips when our assistant principle cut in front of me to hand him a new microphone. The cordless one he'd been using was giving off a weird echo, so I guess she'd thought it would be a good idea to try another. I was kind of pissed that she couldn't just wait until after I took my diploma.

She took forever trying to untangle the cord it was attached to and I tried not to let my annoyance show on my face. _Uhhhh_... _Can't I just graduate already? _

Turns out, I never would get the chance.

Just when Mr. Philips went to take the new (untangled) microphone, the lights flickered. The microphone dropped to the floor, making a loud whine as it bounced and rolled towards my feet. As the two administrators sent confused glances up to the ceiling I knelt down to pick up the microphone.

If I had reached for it with a little less speed I might have noticed the tangible buzz surrounding my hand as I reached out, but maybe not. Regardless of what might have been, I _did _pick up the damn thing and trust me – I regret it.

Why did I have to be such a considerate person? Why couldn't I have just grabbed my diploma and moved on?

Just as I started to straighten, with the microphone in my right hand, my muscles tensed up. I remember a strange tingling sensation shooting up my arm followed by extreme pain, then darkness. Long story short, I was electrocuted less than a meter from my high school principle. I was _this _close to being done with high school at last – then I keeled over. Tragic, right? Seriously. I never even had a chance to get drunk or go to any college parties.

…

When I came to again I couldn't see anything. I could feel my body, vaguely, but it felt strange. I could only move the smallest of distances and even that was a challenge. And I was exhausted, no, I was beyond exhausted. My brief moment of consciousness ended, sending me back into the darkness I had just left.

What felt like an eternity later I surfaced again. This time I remembered graduation and my thoughts were clear. _Am I dead? Or just in a coma? _I didn't know for sure but I had a general idea when it came to what happened. I've always been surprisingly quick on the uptake and this time was no exception. I recognized the tingle for a surge of voltage and wondered what had happened after I blacked out, or died, whatever.

For some strange reason I felt like I had died. As morbid as it was I just didn't have the same sense of self that I only just then noticed I was missing. I didn't really feel like I was a person… I felt ethereal and insubstantial, like a ghost.

Now at this point I _knew_ that I should've been panicking, but just as I started to thrash a bit a gentle noise hummed through my ears. Even though I couldn't pick out individual sounds I immediately calmed. Without my panic to distract me I finally started to notice my surroundings.

I was floating. At least, I _thought_ I was floating. I wasn't holding my breath or swallowing water but the sensation was there.

I still couldn't open my eyes to see where I was (if I even had eyes) but I could hear some. Everything was muffled but the hum that had calmed me was easily felt and heard. The hum sounded like someone's voice, but it was indistinct and didn't form any words I could recognize. The noise rose and fell in a soothing rhythm and soon, I was lost to darkness once more.

After that point I rotated through periods of awareness and a blank mindless state. I couldn't even dwell on my death. Every time I did I'd get upset, be comforted by the familiar noise, and fall into unconsciousness almost immediately.

It was the frustration that finally convinced me that if I was dead, I was definitely not in heaven. I also didn't think I was in hell; there was no pain and I felt relatively safe.

I'd never really thought too hard about what came after death. I wasn't religious, but I wasn't an atheist. I think on some level I believed a form of God existed, but I didn't know if my weird state of being was the normal afterlife. If it was, then that sucked because my life (death?) wasn't very stimulating.

The rotation between awareness and zombie-ness continued for what felt like an eternity. I'd breach consciousness only to lose it again. In those moments of clarity I'd pray for something, _anything_, to end the monotony.

It's too bad I came to regret that decision the very next time I surfaced again.

…

The last time I woke up in that dark place was a completely different experience compared to all that came before. This time nothing could soothe my panic. It felt like I was being squeezed. The hum that had grown so familiar, so safe, was high pitched and frantic. My heartbeat (huh, I have a heartbeat again?) was pounding in my ears as my own panic reached a crescendo.

The next thing I knew there was cold air around me and a blinding white light seeping through my eyelids. Something large and powerful had me in its grasp. I did the only sensible thing I _could_ do, I screamed. I screamed and wailed in an infant-like pitch until I was placed on something soft and dry.

I stopped screaming a few moments later in an attempt to take stock of my surroundings. The problem was, I couldn't _see_! It was with shock and no small amount of fear that I realized I was being cleaned and dried by hands that were as big as my entire body. The giant hands wiped gunk from my face and body before wrapping me in what felt like a blanket.

With a sense of horror and disbelief I assessed my situation. Even in my less than stable mental state I had enough common sense to guess at what was going on. _Was I just… Am I a… Shit, I just experienced my own birth with a conscious mind. That is _so_ fucked up._

Once I was sufficiently clean I was placed in someone's arms. I blinked frantically in an attempt to make out the face looming above me. All I could make out was reddish-brown hair and dark blue eyes, the individual details were indiscernible. It was then that the face above me started to speak. She cooed and whispered in a soft voice and I froze in recognition.

It was the noise from the darkness, the one that made me feel safe. I was a baby and this woman, the one holding me, was my mother.

_Huh, guess this isn't a memory_. I had wondered if I was just re-experiencing the beginning of my life or actually being born as a new person, but the face of my new mother sealed the deal. My mom had dark brown, almost black hair and brown eyes. This woman holding me was not my mom, well, she was, just not the mom I remembered.

I didn't even cry at the realization. I was still too traumatized (_**from being**_** BORN!**) to do anything but stare in open mouthed shock at the woman who'd given birth to me. Even thinking it was weird! And with my mind completely overloaded I fainted, though to anyone else it probably just looked like I fell asleep.

Geez, I was definitely gonna need therapy after this.


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it - I'm having fun writing it and planning the plot. Please feel free to review and give me some tips if you think I need it! I know it's short but I plan on lengthening the chapters once I finish the childhood parts._

**Coming to Terms – **

For some strange reason I couldn't make out anything that anyone was saying, but the incomprehensible noise that my new mom made gave me the same sense of ease that I felt in the womb. I was with her for most of my time in the hospital. She would coo and whisper to me whenever I was awake. Even though I was nearly eighteen years old, I was a baby too. I felt unconditional love toward the soft warm person who was my new mother.

Whenever she held me in her arms I could feel and hear the steady beat of her heart. It comforted me and reminded me of my time in the darkness. Funnily enough, now that I was _out_ I could appreciate the peace and security I felt in the womb, though I certainly didn't want to go back. Memories of my birth were a different story – the screaming and the fear made me suppress the entire ordeal until it was just a vague recollection at the back of my mind.

I wanted to mourn the loss of my mother, the other one, but I couldn't. My baby self had only two settings – happy and upset. I could only feel upset if I were hungry, lonely, or needed to be changed. When I tried to remember my old mom I would feel the faintest stirrings of unease and regret, but they quickly faded when my baby mind was distracted by my surroundings.

I wanted to wail and scream at my loss. I was betraying my mom, the old one, by getting over her loss so swiftly. Though technically it was my loss, I did die.

Death was the only thing that made sense to me. In my previous life I had heard of reincarnation and I was sure that was what happened to me. I could think of no other reason why I would suddenly be a baby.

At the thought I wondered if I would see my old mother and friends again, but I dismissed it. First of all, I didn't know how long it had taken me to reincarnate. Secondly, I was sure the adults around me weren't speaking English – if I was in a different country how would I contact her? Perhaps the scariest reason would be the fact that I didn't even know what I looked like, if I didn't look the same as before than how would she recognize and believe me?

Frankly I just didn't know what to do. On some level I wondered if everyone was aware for their birth and just forgot about it later. I wanted that, maybe then my thoughts wouldn't be so confused and I would feel less guilty about loving my new mom.

Simultaneously I felt like forgetting would betray her memory and my own. I wouldn't just lose memories of my mother; I would lose my old self. In fact, I could already tell the experience had changed me. I was more baby and less 17 year old girl.

I heaved a sigh and opened my eyes. It had been a few days since my birth and I was lying in a little bed next to a few other newborns. I wished I could talk and ask them if they were going through the same thing I was but I had figured out pretty quickly that all I could do was gurgle or wail. Even if I could I had no guarantee that they'd understand my language or were self-aware at all.

Moving was even more of a challenge. I could squeeze my fists shut and wiggle a bit, but real movement was impossible. So I laid there, thinking of my old life, and trying to be upset about it. It was so strange, my conscious mind told me I should be panicking and miserable but my unconscious mind had already moved on.

The most I could work up was some whimpering and twitching, even then it was half-hearted. My baby needs were met: I was warm, full, and sleepy – being upset was impossible.

I was beginning to realize that my feelings from my old life were gone. All I had left was the knowledge of who I was and how I lived, but I had lost the emotions that went with the memories. I suppose it was what made it so easy to be content in my old life – otherwise I would be freaking out over the fact that I was a _baby_!

So on that day, four days after my birth, I reluctantly let go. With weary resignation I decided that I wasn't getting my old life back and I decided to fully embrace my new one.

…

I woke up after the next day to the sound of two nurses checking on me and the other newborns. They cooed at us and I couldn't help but smile at their blurry faces. Now that I accepted my new life I already felt calmer and happier.

One nurse picked me up, wrapped me in a blanket, and started walking. She was warm and I wasn't bothered by her presence. Her small even steps were rocking me gently in her arms and I was hard pressed not to fall asleep again.

When we reached our destination she murmured something and ran her fingers over my forehead. Then she handed me over to someone else. I squirmed a bit before the new arms held me close, but relaxed when I recognized the scent of my mom.

She held me against her chest and I noticed she was no longer wearing a white hospital gown. She had a long-sleeved blue shirt on underneath a black off-the-shoulder tee. Her presence was enough to make me happy. I drifted off to sleep again as she moved about and prepared to leave.

I awoke when we finally left the hospital. I studied the wavy auburn hair and dark blue eyes. Even with my poor vision I could tell she was beautiful. She had naturally tan skin and the straightest, whitest smile I had ever seen. Her smile was gentle and she kept her eyes on me as she walked out into the sunshine outside.

Sometime while I was asleep she had put on a baby carrier that left me strapped to her chest with my head against her collarbone. Her long hair tickled the top of my head and I sent her a lazy smile. The gentle sunshine was warm and a moment later I was asleep once more.

This time I didn't wake up until we reached our destination. She had just shut a door behind her and the noise made me shift. Very gently she removed me from the baby carrier and walked to the far end of the room where a portable crib was set up. It was at the foot of a large bed and a few feet away from curtains covering what I assumed was a window.

She placed me in the crib and kissed the top of my head before climbing into the bed and collapsing.

With some difficulty I turned my head to examine the room. My vision was slightly blurry but I could see enough to feel confused. It looked like we were in a hotel room. I could see a mini-fridge next to a desk and the slightly open door leading into a bathroom. The only other door was the one we had entered through.

Either we were in a hotel room, or we were in a _very_ small apartment. Somehow I doubted we were in an apartment. The ugly curtains and floral bedspread were in bad taste and I couldn't imagine anyone using them if they had the choice. I wondered if my mom was poor or if she had gone into labor away from home.

I only then realized I had no idea what my life was going to be like. I didn't know if my mom had a job or if she had any family… I froze. My quiet musings slammed to a halt.

_What about my father?_

I didn't know my father in my previous life because my mom had been 16 when she had me. I had gotten over the fact when I was fairly young, but I wasn't sure I wanted to live without a male figure in my life all over again.

The fear that my own flesh and blood didn't love me enough to be there when I grew up hit me hard. It upset me in a way that my death had not. Unlike the distant pain of losing my life, this pain was real and immediate. The thought that I was abandoned again made me feel lonely. _Is there something so wrong with me that only one parent can even stand me no matter what life I lead?_

I couldn't keep silent any longer and I began to scream at the top of my lungs. The negative emotions sent me over the edge into my first real tantrum.

My small throat was already raw by the time my mom picked my up and started rocking me. She looked so tired and I remembered guiltily that she'd gone through childbirth and had spent days in the hospital recovering. She had every right to resent me or to at least feel exasperated but all I saw in her face was love.

I stopped crying and began to sniffle. I had a parent willing to love me and raise me and this is how I repay her? No. I would be the best daughter she could imagine. It would be the least I could do – she had birthed me and already loved me despite the short time we had spent together.

With that I finally quieted. I didn't need a dad when I had a devoted parent right here next to me. We fell asleep together on her bed with her arms around me and my head against her chest and the steady beat of her heart in my ears.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump._


	3. Chapter 3

_Ahhhh! Okay so I'm kind of disappointed with what I have so far. I'm definitely going to go back and fix these chapters when school gets out. Until then, I'll continue to post on a regular basis so forgive me if it's a bit confusing or there's too little detail._

**Starting Over – **

The first few weeks at home were exciting. My mom was pretty upbeat when it came to her new daughter. She would usher me about and was constantly shoving baby toys my way. To be perfectly honest, it was probably a more fulfilling childhood than my first had been. The first time around I had been raised by a teenager struggling to finish high school and a grandmother who wanted nothing to do with me.

My mom never stopped smiling. She called me Chidori-chan and I wondered at the strange name. I had always liked Victoria, but my new name was growing on me.

No one else ever came to visit me so I assumed she had no family or wasn't in contact with them. My new mom was young, probably college-aged if I had to guess. I guiltily wondered if her family had abandoned her when she told them she was pregnant as most people had when my old mother did. She may not have been 16, but she was still fairly young to have a baby.

Despite the fact that it was just the two of us my mom seemed happy. The fact that I was most likely the easiest baby on earth probably helped. I was determined to not complicate her life any more than necessary – I didn't want her to resent me for ruining her life.

So with that in mind I almost never cried. I made shrill noises when I was hungry or needed to be changed and I quieted immediately when she was focused on other things. She took me for walks outside and stopped to let old women and other mothers coo at me. I always smiled and gave my best baby giggles in response as my mother looked on with a smile of her own. It wasn't hard to pretend to be a happy baby because I _was_ happy. I didn't cry when she allowed other people to hold me or pat my head like a normal baby because I knew what was going on. I may not have had a completely adult mind but I knew enough to understand that they were complimenting me and wouldn't harm me. Without the confusion and fear that other babies felt I was able to remain calm and collected.

Every so often I would catch my mom looking a little confused as if she couldn't understand me. When she accidentally got soap in my eyes during my bath and frantically rinsed it out looking ready to cry I just blinked and sent her my signature lazy smile. When she saw that I was neither upset nor hurt she gave a shaky laugh and stared at me in wonder. I realized I wasn't acting very baby-like but I felt it was my duty to be the best and easiest baby she could ask for.

My mom never seemed to tire. She played with me to the extent that I wondered if she enjoyed the baby games more than I did. I even gurgled happily when she played peek-a-boo, though it was mostly because she looked ridiculous. She bought new toys all the time. I would wake up to find she had gone out and gotten building blocks or finger paints. I actually enjoyed my life. Not only had I lost the coordination of an adult but I had also lost the attention span. The toys that should have bored me were a pleasant distraction that I enjoyed.

One day she came home with a stuffed animal. It looked to be a scruffy dog and I immediately loved it. It reminded me of the dog the neighbors in my old life had kept. Back then I had taken care of their dog every time they went on vacation. I was so pleased with it I didn't notice the look on my mom's face until I heard a quiet sniffle. Looking up with my newly clear eyes I saw the tear tracks on her face. She knelt down with a sad smile I'd never seen before and patted my head.

Her sadness was contagious and I felt tears forming in my eyes for the first time since I had wailed at the loss of a father I'd never even had. I clumsily reached my chubby arms up, forgetting the dog's tail was still trapped in my left fist. My mom looked torn between laughing and crying.

"Oh, Chidori-chan…" she scooped me up and held me close, squeezing the dog between us. She carried me to the bed and lay down with me in her arms. She held me to her chest and cried quietly as I sniffled into her shirt. We fell asleep and when I awoke she was once again the joyous woman I had come to know.

…

After a few months had passed I was finally starting to pick up the language. I couldn't speak clearly but I could manage a gargled "Kaa-chan" when my mom picked me up. Though I couldn't really communicate I was able to understand what everyone else was saying. I'd felt really silly when I figured out my name was actually just Chidori and that -chan was an honorific.

Being able to understand what people were saying made things way more interesting. I especially loved going out to shop once I could pick up on what others were saying to my mom.

"Good afternoon Honda-san."

"Hello Akiyama-san! Chidori-chan is looking as cute as ever, has she started crawling yet?" asked the old man who owned the tea shop. My mom always stopped by after shopping for produce further up the road. He was tall and thin with a scruffy gray beard that reached half-way down his chest.

"Just a little bit, but I'm beginning to think that she's purposely giving up just so she can be carried around," said my mother with a soft laugh.

"What makes you say that? Five months is incredibly early for a baby to be crawling, I'm still surprised that she can speak!" cried the old man. He'd been utterly shocked when I'd cried "Kaaaaa-chan!" in front of him a month previously. Speaking was an exaggeration but a few words were still impressive at my age.

"Oh there's no doubt she's a little genius," confessed my mother, "But I've caught her crawling around whenever I'm not in the room. She always stops as soon as she sees me and throws her arms up to be carried."

Honda-san laughed at that and brought my mother her tea. I was stuck in an uncomfortable baby carrier but I didn't complain. My mom never stayed long. She and Honda-san exchanged a few words more about my laziness as I pouted and soon we were on our way home.

It turns out the room we'd originally been staying in had been a hotel. When I was a month old we had left the hotel and moved into a nice apartment not too far away. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a spacious living room. I had no idea where she got the money since I'd never seen her work or do anything other than take care of me, but I didn't worry too much about it.

From what I'd heard from those my mom spoke to she had come to the small town we lived in only a few months before giving birth. She never answered questions about her family or my father and so I had no knowledge of her life before I came along.

Once my mom realized that I didn't wake up crying like most babies she started leaving in the middle of the night only to come back hours later covered in sweat. She wasn't gone long enough for me to think it was a job and she always wore workout clothes, which ruined my idea that she was sneaking out to see a man. I didn't know why she had to work out in the middle of the night, but she always did and eventually it just became part of our normal routine.

For the most part with lived a quiet life and I expected it to continue indefinitely. Imagine my shock when she started talking about leaving our little town just two days after her conversation with Honda-san.

We had just walked through the front door to our apartment when she started talking. She spoke to me pretty often, though I don't think she realized how much I understood.

"I'm going to have to go back at some point sweetie," she sighed. "As nice as this is I need to start taking missions again. The Hokage only gave me time off until you were six months old…"

She looked miserable and I reached my little had up to clumsily pat her cheek. Inside I was reeling; she was talking about leaving everything I had ever known. I didn't know what she meant by missions or what the Hokage was and I could only wait for her to continue.

"At least I'll be able to see my friends again. I'm sure they'll love you Chidori-chan! They'll take care of you whenever I have to go on missions," she was looking a little happier as she said this.

All of a sudden her face fell, "But I never told _him_ about you…"

I stayed quiet, I had the feeling she was talking about my father.

"I know I should have, but I wasn't supposed to get pregnant. I left without telling anyone, let alone him. Maybe he won't even believe me," she paused, looking thoughtful. "I did leave shortly after I found out about you. What if he never finds out?"

She stared at me before hanging her head, "Oh, who am I kidding? You're his spitting image. The Hokage will realize the truth as soon as he sees the resemblance and he'll make me tell your father."

She broke down into tears as I reeled with the new information. For the second time in my short lifetime she fell asleep crying as she held me against her chest.

…

A week later my mom had the apartment packed up and the furniture sold. We went around saying our goodbyes to all the villagers we had come to know. I spent the day before practicing the words, "Bye-bye!" and made sure to smile happily at all the people who'd called me cute. They made silly exclamations about my gargled words and pinched my cheeks. My mother looked sad and gave hugs to all the women she'd become friends with.

Finally, as evening approached, she grabbed the bags with her clothes, my toys, and all the picture books she'd gotten me and we were off. We caught a ride on a farmer's cart and waved our final goodbyes as we rolled away.

I fell asleep fairly quickly and only woke up when the cart rolled to a stop. The farmer was a kind middle aged man and he set about starting a fire while my mom took out her sleeping roll. While the farmer moved into the woods to gather firewood my mom fed me with a bright pink bottle before taking out a protein bar and a bottle of water. She ate quickly, spoke with the farmer some, and crawled under her blanket with me in her arms. I could tell she was still awake but couldn't stay awake long enough to wait for her to fall asleep.

The next day of travel was boring and my mom just held me on her lap in the back of the cart. Once again I tried to wait for her to fall asleep and failed miserably. The next morning we reached a town a bit bigger than the one we had come from. We parted ways with the farmer and spent the night in a quaint little inn.

As she lay down in the bed next to me I heard her breathing deepen and when I looked up she was asleep. It was as I suspected; my mom had stayed up those nights on the road. I knew she was suspicious even though I couldn't understand why. I'd noticed the way she always darted her eyes as though looking for a threat and the way she walked silently. Now I wondered if the man who was my father had beaten her and I was afraid to meet him. Nonetheless we continued on our journey the next day, this time traveling with a wealthy-looking merchant.

The next three days of travel were slow and tedious. I became a little fussy despite my best efforts. I was still a six-month-old despite my memories and I was ready for the journey to be done. My mom, on the other hand, looked more and more anxious as we drew closer to our target. I was starting to think she really did fear my father, why else would she be so upset? I decided before meeting him that he was an abusive asshole and that I wouldn't like him.

I was set straight the night before we reached our destination. The merchant and his hired helpers were already asleep and my mom was leaning against a tree with me in her lap. It was an impressive tree. Even though everything loomed large above me I could tell the trees around us were more than just large, they were _huge_!

"Okay Chidori-chan, we're almost there," she gave me a sheepish smile before continuing. "I'm sorry I kept you away from your dad. I just wasn't sure how he'd react to being a father without any say in the matter."

She looked up into the tree tops and sighed, "He's nice, he's handsome, and he's brave, but he doesn't love me. I was afraid he would think I did it on purpose to try to get him to marry me, but that wasn't it."

I stared into her face with wide eyes. "I was infatuated and I knew that so long as I didn't push for a real relationship he would keep me around," she sighed. "He's a great guy and I know that he'll do his best by you, that's just the kind of person he is…"

As she continued to talk about a man she clearly loved and respected I zoned out. I knew it was naïve to hope for the best. I squashed the relief I felt at hearing I had a father who might be involved in my life and instead focused on my mom.

I loved my mom and it was heartbreaking to hear her talk about loving a man who she was sure would never return the favor. I decided to remain loyal to her and her alone. If my father couldn't love her than he was a fool and undeserving of my attention. I snuggled into my mother with that in mind and drifted to sleep with all the ease of the baby I appeared to be.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ahhh, it's still choppy and that annoys me, but I really want to get the initial parts over with. Please bear with me!_

**The Unexpected Daughter – **

When I finally woke up it was to raised voices and laughter. The merchant and the six he traveled with were eager to be done with journey it seemed. I stirred in my mom's arms and looked up at her. She was clenching her jaw and her posture was stiff.

"Morning Kaa-chan," I whispered, though it sounded more like "mo'ning kach'n."

She looked down at me and smiled for my benefit, "Morning sweetheart."

The carriage we were sitting in slowed to a stop and she put on the baby carrier and lowered me into it. Once we came to a complete stop she hopped down and moved to the cart behind us to take our bags. Now that we were out of the carriage I could see the enormous walls we had come to. They stretched for what seemed like forever to both sides and met in front of us in the form of a large open gate. The merchant we'd joined was pulling out papers in front of a small building just inside the gates.

My mom took a deep breath and made her way over to the same building with me strapped to her chest and our bags in her hands. As we got closer I saw two men wearing strange clothes and matching green vests. I assumed they were some kind of guards or gatekeepers for the village we were entering. The first had a bandage of sorts across his nose and dark spiky hair, he was busy looking over the merchant's papers and ignored us. My mom went to stand in front of the second without saying a word.

As she waited for him to notice us I saw that both he and the other guard were wearing headbands that matched my mom's belt. She hadn't worn it before today but it was the same metal plate with the same leaf insignia. Not for the first time I wished I could speak fluently so I could question my mother.

The man took what felt like an eternity to acknowledge us. "Papers please," he said at last without looking up from the scroll he was reading from.

I was just thinking it odd that he was reading from a scroll rather than a book when my mother answered, "Really Izumo-kun? You don't recognize me? It hasn't been _that_ long."

He looked up quickly and I noticed that his hair covered his right eye. "Kaoru-chan? Akiyama Kaoru is that you?"

The first man looked up at my mother's name, "Kaoru? Where have you been? It's been a year since anyone has heard from you!"

"It has been a while Kotetsu-kun, Izumo-kun. I've missed you guys."

The man name Izumo looked shocked, "We wondered what had happened to you! The Hokage wouldn't tell us where you went, he just said you'd taken time off for personal reasons…"

For the first time he seemed to see me in my baby carrier. The second man followed Izumo's eyes and looked at me too. "Um Kaoru, is that _your_ baby?"

"Yeah, she's mine. That's why I've been gone so long," she answered quietly. I had my head turned at an awkward angle to watch the exchange and my neck was hurting. The two men shared a look.

"Who's her, um, y'know…" The man named Kotetsu looked sheepish.

My mom didn't answer. Instead, she put the bags down and gently lifted me from the baby carrier. Once I was free she turned me around to face them and removed the cap she'd put on my head. When they saw my hair they gasped. I didn't understand until I recalled what my mom had said about my looks – apparently I look like him.

"I didn't even know you were dating– "

My mom cut him off, "We weren't, not really."

Silence fell. The merchant who'd been standing off to the side throughout the exchange looked uncomfortable. When he cleared his throat Kotetsu apologized and went back to examining his papers. My mom made some excuse about seeing the Hokage and after putting my hat on and picking up the bags she waved goodbye. I peeked over her shoulder and saw the two men looking after her as she walked away.

…

The village we were in was less a village and more like a sprawling city, though I didn't see any cars. I wondered at that. Whatever country I was in had technology, but not to the extent that I was used to. It was weird, the people I saw had the weirdest mixture of hair colors but spoke a language that I'd finally identified as Japanese. For the life of me I couldn't figure out where we were.

Most of the people we passed ignored us but there were others who stared in shock. The ones who noticed us and turned to whisper to their friends all had green vests, or if not, at least had the weird metal headband that my mom wore as a belt. Some looked as though they wanted to speak to my mother, but she just shook her head and kept walking.

We made our way deeper into the city until a strange mountain loomed before us. It reminded me of Mount Rushmore, though the faces carved in stone were definitely _not_ former presidents. At this point I was really curious as to where we were. I tried to point to the faces with a questioning look but my mom just patted my head and ignored me. Put out, I settled for lying against her chest until we reached our destination.

It was only a few minutes later when my mom open a door and walked into a building. I picked my head up and looked around. We were in what looked like a busy waiting room. People in those metal headbands were running about much faster than I'd ever seen anybody move. Ignoring all the chaos my mom walked up to a woman at a desk and spoke, "Excuse me, I'm here to see the Hokage."

"Name please."

"Akiyama Kaoru."

The squinted at my mother before saying, "He's left instructions that you be sent to see him whenever you get here. You're free to head up."

My mom nodded and made her way to the stairs on the far side of the room. Moments later she was putting her bags down to knock on a large wooden door. "Come in," called a male voice. My mother picked up her bag and shifted it under her arm so she could open the door. As we entered the room I noticed three things: The man who'd spoken was extremely old, he had an insane view of the village from the window behind his desk, and his outfit was _really _weird.

"Kaoru-san is that you?" he said with a smile. Then he noticed me. "So that's why you wanted so much time off…"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama. I should have told you, but I'm afraid I wasn't in the best mental state at the time."

"I can imagine," he said. "Who's the father? Does he know?"

My mom winced, "No Hokage-sama. I didn't know how he would respond to the news and so I took the cowardly route and ran away. As for the father's identity…" she trailed off. Once again she set her bags down and freed me from the baby carrier. The Hokage just raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

She pulled off my cap as she done before and whispered, "I think it's fairly obvious when you see her hair."

I was uncomfortable with the situation but didn't let it show. My hair was nothing like my mother's auburn waves and my eyes were an even deeper blue. I was paler as well. I could only assume my father looked similar if everyone could figure out his identity just by looking at me. _Oh well, might as well make the best of it._

I tilted my head to the side and shot a lazy smile towards the old man, "Mo'ning."

The Hokage looked shocked and amused at the same time. "I can certainly see the resemblance, but how old is she? She doesn't look old enough to be speaking."

"Oh she just looks young for her age, she's nearly six months old. She is advanced though, Chidori-chan has been able to say simple words since she was a little over four months old."

"Chidori-chan?"

My mother blushed, "I thought it was fitting."

"It certainly is," the Hokage turned a disapproving gaze on my mother. "You should have told him. He has a right to know about his own daughter."

"I know, Hokage-sama, I realize that now. It's just, well, we didn't really have a conventional relationship and I didn't want to upset him or make him uncomfortable."

"Regardless of how he would respond he still had the right to know," my mother hung her head. "Though I think he may surprise you," added the old man.

I was getting tired of this. It wasn't my mom's fault! She was in a difficult situation and made the best of it. So far, she'd been an amazing mother; she didn't deserve to be reprimanded. I stared at the old man, "Hokag-y mean, Kaa-chan good!"

He looked shocked for a moment before he started laughing. My mom looked at me blankly before chuckling herself. "I'm surprised she could pick up on the fact that I was scolding you. How advanced did you say she was again?"

My mom smiled, "I'm beginning to think even I don't know how special she really is."

The Hokage's smile faded, "You need to see him Kaoru-san. I'll give you time to get back home but I'm sending him over in a few hours. He's just returned from a mission in wave country. I'll leave it to you to tell him."

"Yes Hokage-sama."

…

An hour later my mom had taken me to a dusty apartment much like the one we'd been living in for the past few months. She'd taken out a blanket and had put me on the floor with my stuffed dog. It's gray fur was ruffled looking and I was petting it like a real dog to smooth it out. My mom cleaned as I played and made tea when she finished.

When I saw that she had finished cleaning I held up my dog, "Woof?" She smiled and sat on the floor next to me before taking the scruffy toy and moving it about. She had it run over the floor and tackle me, all the while making barking noises. I laughed and made my own barking noises in response.

I was so caught up in the game that I failed to notice my mom staring behind me towards the door. The dog stopped running about so I grabbed its tail and lifted it from my mom's grasp, "Woof?"

Only then did I notice the panic on my mom's face. I turned to see a man in a mask standing just inside the apartment with the door wide open behind him. The mask covered his mouth and nose and the metal headband I kept seeing covered one of his eyes. "I ran into Kotetsu and Izumo and they said it was important, but they didn't say…" The man couldn't continue. He looked at my mother, then me, back to my mother, before finally settling his gaze on me.

At this point I could guess at his identity from his actions alone, but it was his hair that caught my attention. It was the same silvery color as my own, maybe a bit darker, but just as spiky. When he remained frozen and my mom refused to speak I decided that I was going to have to act as the adult. "Hello," I said with a smile before holding up my dog, "Woof?"

He didn't move but his gaze switched to my mother, "Kaoru, is she…?"

"Yes Kakashi. She's your daughter."


	5. Chapter 5

_Okay so that was the big reveal! Kakashi is Chidori's father. Does her name make sense now? Was it obvious? Anyway, the chapters should start improving from here! This one will be longer than the others and hopefully better. Thanks for reading! And special thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, I appreciate it!:) _

_P.S. I know I've updated these chapters all in a row but I wanted to get to the better parts as quickly as possible!_

**Like Father, Like Daughter – **

"Yes Kakashi. She's your daughter."

I was thoroughly enjoying the panicked look on my "father's" face, well, what I could see of his face. _Huh, I guess I didn't lose all aspects of my old personality after all. I_ _still enjoy other people's misfortune! _ I knew it was a big moment and all, but I couldn't help but laugh at his expression. Thankfully, my giggle went unnoticed.

He was staring at my mother as if she'd sprouted another head. "Is that why you left?"

My mother nodded, "I was afraid to tell you."

"How old is she? What's her name?"

"She's nearly six months old, her name is Chidori."

He glanced back to me, "Cute name." It appeared he was calming down, "She's okay right? Healthy and all that…"

"Of course Kakashi. If anything, she's a genius," my mom moved to pick me up. As she stood I let my dog fall to the ground. She moved closer to him, "Would you – would you like to hold her?"

He seemed frozen in place. "Uh, I guess so… If it's alright?" My mom gave him a small smile and handed me over. His arms were bigger than my mother's and I felt small. He looked down at me and I stared back. I had expected anger or denial, but if anything he just seemed shocked. My mom was looking more sure of herself and I was laughing in my head. I didn't think it would be like this – there was no resentment. My parents were totally clueless on how they were supposed to do this, it was endearing.

When my father looked at me I could tell he was confused, frightened, and maybe a little bit proud. He wasn't the asshole I'd been expecting. I was relieved that my mother hadn't been blinded by her infatuation, he really did seem like the good guy she'd thought he was. "You could've told me," he finally said. "I wouldn't have been mad. She's my daughter too and I would've liked to see her grow."

My mom burst into tears, "I'm sorry Kakashi! I didn't know what to do and it was so unexpected…" The rest of what she said was indecipherable through her sobs. As always when my mother cried I started to cry too.

Kakashi looked unsure as to what to do, "Kaoru?"

She pulled herself together and took me from his arms. She carried me to her bedroom with Kakashi following uncertainly. I was placed in her bed with pillows on either side so I didn't role off. "Chidori-chan needs to sleep. We can talk back in the living room."

He just nodded and followed her out after shooting me another glance. I was disappointed, I had wanted to see the way things turned out. I debated crying but dismissed that idea quickly; I didn't want to scare my new father away. I was happy and I hoped he would want to be a part of my life. From the little I'd seen of him I thought he would and I was glad. As much as I thought I didn't need a father I still wanted one. He was nice to my mother too, despite what she'd done.

I strained to hear what they were saying but all I could make out was a muffled echo. _If only I didn't have to sleep so much as a baby! _I was frustrated at my exclusion, but it didn't last. I was exhausted from all the change – moments later I was falling asleep to the hushed tones of my parents.

…

When the sun rose the next morning I found my mother snoring softly next to me. I stared up at the ceiling and wondered what decision my parents had come to on how I was going to be raised. I shifted slightly, suddenly hungry. My mom stopped snoring immediately and I felt guilty for waking her. "Morning sweetie," she mumbled.

Well, if she was already awake… "Hungry. Chi-chan hungry."

My mom laughed. "Well if 'Chi-chan' is hungry I guess I'd better feed her." She got up slowly, stretched and carried me into the living room. She put me down on the same blanket as the night before so she could walk into the kitchen. I rolled onto my stomach and picked at the blanket while she messed about fixing breakfast. By the time she was done I was being fed a mushy substance that tasted like apples and my mom was drinking tea.

We finished eating and my mom picked me up once more. "Let's get cleaned up. That bath yesterday was great after all that travel, but I could definitely go for another."

I clapped my hands together and she took me into the bathroom with her. Once the tub was full of warm water she climbed in and put me on her lap. She washed me first with baby soap and was careful to avoid my eyes. Then she let me splash around a bit before taking me out and wrapping me in a towel. I was dried thoroughly and left sitting on the towel as she climbed back in to wash her hair. When she was finished she drained the tub and climbed out, wrapping herself in the other towel as she did so.

I lifted both arms up and she carried me back to the bedroom. She gave me a new diaper and dressed me in a light blue onesie with white flowers on it. With her favorite comb she tried to tame my hair. As always she gave up after a few minutes. For some reason my hair just wouldn't lie flat and after seeing my father's hair I didn't think it ever would.

Once she was satisfied with my appearance she gave me my dog and left me to crawl around on the floor as she dressed. She wore black pants that she wrapped against her calves and a dark green tube top over a long-sleeved shirt that looked like it had wires in it. Then she put on her standard sandals and tied the sash with the metal rectangle around her hips. I looked at it and pointed as I made a series of noises that were decidedly _not_ word-like.

My mom followed my finger and looked down at the leaf insignia. "Oh this? This is my Hitai-ate. I wear it because I'm a kunoichi." I gave her a blank look. "I'm a ninja. Like in the stories we read." My blank look remained and my mom ruffled my hair and started strapping little pouches to her hips.

_What?! _I had been so sure my mom was sane. _A ninja? Is she messing with me? _We had plenty of children's stories about shinobi and their brave tales, but I didn't recall her ever saying _she_ was one! I decided that either I had misunderstood or she was just teasing me. Either way, my mom did not think she was a ninja, that would be too silly.

Her next words however, pushed ninjas out of my mind completely. "Alright Chidori-chan, your dad is going to take you today. I need to get back to work and start training again. This way you'll get acquainted and I won't need a baby-sitter." She was smiling and looked truly happy for the first time since we had left our old village. I, however, was not smiling.

I stared at her with my mouth in an O. I couldn't believe she was abandoning me to a stranger already! Sure he was my dad, but I had only met him yesterday. How could she trust him to take care of me? She had barely ever let anyone hold me, let alone take care of me for a day. A knock on the door had me closing my mouth and my mother scrambling to tie up her hair. With a quick glance in the mirror she nodded, scooped me up, and went to answer.

"Yo," said the tall, silver haired man. My mom smiled up at him as my mind went spinning out of control. She was betraying me! I didn't know this man; he didn't know how to take care of a baby!

"Hey Kakashi. Come on in," she called over her shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed two bottles, some baby food, diapers, and a blanket. She shifted me to her other hip as she reached into a drawer and pulled out a scroll.

"Here, take Chi-chan while I seal up her stuff." She didn't wait for an answer and thrust me into his arms. We sent perplexed and overwhelmed glances at each other; clearly my new father didn't know what to make of this situation either.

When I looked back to my mother all the things were gone and she was rolling the little scroll up. _Wait, where did everything go?_ Geez, this day was getting more and more confusing.

My mom handed the scroll over to Kakashi and he shifted me to one arm to take it. "Alright, I need to go to ANBU headquarters and get my superiors caught up. Taking care of Chidori is really easy. She can speak some and understands even more, she won't cry either. But when you meet with your team be careful – Chidori's never been around kids before and I don't want her to be overwhelmed okay?"

"Sure…" he answered, still clearly overwhelmed himself.

"Great! Bye Chidori-chan!" And with that she kissed me on the head and dragged us out the door. She closed and locked it behind her and took off running with a wave, "Have fun!" She disappeared down the stairs and left us there, together.

I gulped.

…

"Well, that was interesting." Kakashi stuffed the scroll into a pocket and lifted me up by my armpits. He held me up for a moment and examined me with his one visible eye. I stared back, determined to remain calm.

"Maa, you'll do." I nearly choked. Was that meant to be a joke? He moved me so I was resting against his chest and started walking. I pouted – I'll _do_! What does that even mean? His casual manner may have put me at ease, but it was still weird.

He carried me down the stairs and out of the apartment building and into the sunshine. I yawned happily. I loved warm weather both in my old life and now; it was so relaxing and peaceful. This more than anything made me calm down. Nothing bad ever happens on days as nice as this one was.

As he walked I decided that he wouldn't dare treat me badly – after all, if he did, he'd have to face my mom. I had the distinct feeling my mom's boundless energy intimidated him, hell, it intimidated _me_ sometimes. With that in mind I made the decision to just go with the flow. If I really wanted a father I'd have to get used to the idea of spending time with him.

I snuggled into his chest and prepared to nap, I always slept better in my mother's arms and I figured it would be the same for another's. He stiffened at first and I smirked – I was making him uncomfortable and it was, well, kind of cute. He slowly relaxed and gave my head an awkward pat with his free arm. I giggled, I was _so_ going to enjoy torturing my new dad.

I yawned again. Humph, I guess I'd have to wait until after my nap to mess with him. Smiling once more I shut my eyes and drifted off.

…

My new dad was still walking when I stirred. He noticed the movement and shifted me to his other side. I lifted my head up and blinked in the sunshine. As my eyes adjusted I took in our surroundings. There were shops on either side of the road and I could smell food in the air. I looked around eagerly for the source of the smell, wishing I was allowed to eat real food. I spotted a little food stand selling what looked like pastries. My mouth watered, _if only I had teeth… damn_.

I turned away from the food I knew I couldn't have and looked instead at a flower shop. It too smelled delicious, but in a different way. Through the window I could see all sorts of beautiful flowers. I looked up into the eye I could see, the dark blue one so similar to my own and I pointed to the flower shop. He raised an eyebrow in response. Smiling sweetly I pointed to myself and then back to the flower shop.

With a sigh he turned and walked into the flower shop. Once inside he turned me around in his arms so I was facing all the flowers. I squinted and tried to figure out which one I wanted. I was torn between a bright yellow sunflower and a Calla Lily. In the end though, I couldn't resist the brightness of the sunflower. I pointed towards it and Kakashi walked over to it.

"Is there something I can help you with Hatake-san?"

"I'd like to buy a sunflower if that's alright," he drawled.

"Of course, though if I may ask, who's the little girl?"

"My daughter."

The woman looked puzzled so I tilted my head and gave her a smile, "Mo'nin."

She squealed, "Oh she's so adorable! May I hold her?" I tensed up a little. The calm, elegant air was gone instantly. I'm always a little put off by excess energy when it's someone I'm not familiar with and I looked up at my dad with pleading eyes. This woman's abrupt change was downright _scary_.

"Actually, if I could just buy the flower… I'm late to meet my team."

The woman looked put out, "Oh, okay. I'll ring it right up."

Roughly three minutes later we were back on the street and I had a large sunflower in my hand. I glanced back towards the shop and heaved a sigh of relief. My dad noticed and chuckled under his breath. I was grateful that he had saved me from that woman. Something about her just made me want to shudder in fear. I resolved to put it out of my mind and sniffed the flower, feeling better after doing so.

Kakashi adjusted his grip on me and made his way out of the busy area. I poked the sunflower's petals sniffed it again. It was so perfect that I'd doubted it was real, but after sniffing twice I couldn't deny it – the flower was authentic. Inspiration struck me and I lifted the sunflower up as high as I could. I practically shoved it into my father's face. He looked startled for a moment but when I tapped my nose with my other hand he got the picture.

He crinkled his eye up as if he were smiling. "Yes Chidori-chan, the flower smells nice." I grinned and brought it back down to sniff it myself. It was odd how such simple things made me happy.

I was still petting the flower like I would a dog when I noticed our surroundings had changed drastically. We were now in a large clearing with a stream on one side and trees on all other sides. There were even three upright logs at one end of the clearing with dings and scratches in them. Huh, I didn't even recall how we'd gotten here. One second we were surrounded by shops the next–

"YOU'RE LATE!"

I winced at the sudden noise. Turning my head a little I noticed three figures standing a little ways away. "Yo," called my father.

There were two boys and a girl. They were children, probably between ten and thirteen, though I couldn't be sure. The girl and the blonde boy had been the ones to shout, the third just scowled. I gaped at the girl's hair – it was pink! I mean, I'd seen some weird hair colors lately, but pink? Where in the world is pink hair normal? Even her eyebrows matched; it looked natural. She was pretty, I guess, with the cotton candy hair and her green eyes, but still strange.

Thankfully, the boys' appearances were less startling. Though the one with the bright orange jumpsuit had… whiskers? No, they were just lines. The other one had dark hair, dark eyes, and less outrageous clothes.

"What's with the baby?" shouted the blonde in the jumpsuit. I grimaced, my ears were still sensitive.

"Shut up Naruto! Stop shouting, you're scaring the baby," she shouted back. Great. Another loud one.

"Alright team I would appreciate it if you stopped screaming in front of my daughter, okay?" said Kakashi in his usual drawl. He sounded amused, but I appreciated the fact that he'd noticed how the noise was affecting me.

"Since when do you have a brat?" asked the dark haired kid. He was still scowling. I bristled at the term brat but ultimately ignored it when I realized I couldn't retaliate.

"Apparently since six months ago," said Kakashi. "Her name's Chidori-chan."

The girl was already cooing at me and grabbing my tiny hands in hers. I smiled at her, at least someone appreciated my cuteness. The blonde kid stepped closer and went to poke me in the cheek. I flinched and closed my eyes but the poke never came. When I opened my eyes we were behind the group of kids.

"Maa, I'm going to have to ask you to give her some space. Little Chi-chan here is just a baby after all." They jumped at his voice and spun around. They too had no idea how we'd gotten behind them. "Anyway, let's have you practice tree walking some before we move on with training."

The kids grumbled at that but moved away to each stand in front of one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. I looked on curiously as they lifted their feet and _ran vertically up the tree trunk!_ What the hell? I was officially freaking out, how was that even possible?

I leaned my head back to stare into my dad's masked face. He was looking at me curiously. I looked back at the freaky monster children and squeaked at the sight of them standing sideways on the trees, arguing about something.

"Chi-chan do you know what chakra is?" he asked me with his eye crinkled in a smile. I just stared at him blankly. I wondered at the nickname for a moment before I remembered my mom using it in front of him early in the morning.

He walked a little ways away from the demon children and jumped up onto one of the logs in the ground. I gasped a little at the jump before he sat down and put me on his lap. Once we were settled he reached forward and put his hand in front of me.

I stared at his hand in wonder. It was glowing! A blue glow surrounded his hand and there was no flashlight anywhere I could see. Hesitantly I reached out to touch his hand. When I finally did I felt the oddest tingling sensation in my finger tips and I laughed. No longer wary I stuck my other hand out to join my first. The tingling sensation felt so cool! I took my hands away and it disappeared and as soon as I touched his hand again the feeling returned.

I clapped and went off in excited baby gibberish. I didn't even try to form words, I just made random noises to express my excitement. I was so caught up that I didn't notice the three kids return from their tree exercise until the blonde kid spoke up.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, what do we do know?" I stopped playing with the blue light and looked up, startled. My dad let the light fade away and turned his attention back to the children.

"Hmm, I can't really think of any training... I guess I'll give you guys a mission today then," drawled Kakashi. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll similar to the one my mother had given him, only without the ribbon tied around it. He tossed it in the air and the blonde, Naruto, made a clumsy attempt to catch it.

He yanked the scroll open and the other two went to read it over his shoulders. A moment passed, "Aw, Kakashi-sensei! Why do we have to do a dumb mission like this?"

The pink haired girl nodded, "Yeah, isn't weeding a little too easy for us? We can handle more you know." The scowling boy didn't say anything but he nodded.

I looked up to see Kakashi scratching his head. "If it's so easy it should be done twice as fast then. Maybe I'll give you a more dangerous mission after."

"Dangerous? Like rescuing a princess, fighting bandits, or something like that? Ne, tell us Kakashi-sensei!" whined Naruto. He was about to continue when the girl punched him in the head and effectively shut him up.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei. We'll go and get this done." The dark haired kid was already walking away and the girl chased after him, dragging Naruto by the back of his jumpsuit.

Once they were out of sight I heard a heavy sigh. My dad lifted me up and jumped back down to the ground. It was so gentle that I probably wouldn't have noticed the movement if my eyes were closed. He stared at me for a moment before saying, "I really hope you don't turn out like any of them." It was said so seriously that I snickered, well, as much as a baby can snicker.

I agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment. Those were some weird-ass little pre-teens.


	6. Chapter 6

_Here's the sixth chapter! Haha I know I originally said every two weeks but I'm generally an impatient person so... yeah. This chapter is just a rough transition before I do a teeny tiny time skip. I hope you like it!_

**Rabbit Holes– **

A few minutes after the demon children had left I was placed on the ground so my dad could search his pockets. I was looking around in an attempt to find my sunflower as he patted himself down. I glanced around and spotted it lying in the dirt by the upright log. _Oops, I must have dropped it when his hands started glowing._ I had just started to crawl over to get it when the masked man finished his search.

With a subdued "aha!" he opened the scroll my mother had given him and placed it on the ground a few feet away from where I was sitting. I stopped moving and looked over at the strange scene.

Curious, I watched as he pressed his thumb down in the middle of a strange looking symbol. His thumb glowed briefly with the blue light from before and I stared with my mouth wide open as white smoke condensed in a little cloud and faded, leaving all the things my mom had gathered earlier in the day. _I couldn't even come up with an imaginary friend in my old life, now I'm dreaming up scenes straight out of a magic act!_

I shook my head in disbelief. Things had been wacky all day. First the ninja conversation, then the freaky kids, and now this – if it were possible, I had no doubt that I'd check myself into an insane asylum. My day was turning out to be some weird down-the-rabbit-hole experience and I was _not _enjoying it. Of course this reminded me of shrinking, tea, and creepy cats. I shuddered, that movie had always creeped me out; even death wasn't enough to cure my dislike.

At this point you may be wondering why I was choosing to focus on an old Disney movie rather than my predicament. Frankly I just couldn't deal with the unfamiliar weirdness so I focused on a familiar kind of weird. That, and my baby mind tended to get distracted and go off on tangents if I wasn't careful.

By the time I surfaced from my reverie I belatedly noticed that my father had spread my blanket over the ground and stacked my other things to one side. He walked over to me picked me up and placed me on the clear side of the blanket. I was still somewhat in a daze and it took me a moment to see the bottle Kakashi held in front of me.

I stared at it, uncomprehending, before letting my eyes drift away. Suddenly my focus returned as I spotted the scroll, still lying in the grass. Maybe I could come up with a reasonable explanation for all this…

I crawled over slowly and made my way to the edge of the blanket. I leaned towards the scroll and carefully reached towards the symbol. I held my breath and poked it quickly, drawing my finger back as fast as I could.

Nothing happened.

I heard a soft laugh and looked up. My dad had moved so he was squatting across from me and even with the mask on I could've sworn he was smirking at me. I didn't bother to get worked up; I was too preoccupied with the magic scroll in front of me. I gave my best impression of puppy eyes and gestured to the scroll. In response he took my bottle and put it on top of the scroll. He then deliberately lifted a finger and moved it towards the scroll.

I followed his glowing finger with wide eyes as he gently pressed the scroll. A moment later the bottle was gone and white smoke was already dissipating. Once again I was left confused and astounded. I wasn't crazy (hopefully), but I couldn't figure out what was happening. I examined the scroll and saw nothing out of the ordinary – though I couldn't be sure since the symbols were incomprehensible to me. I then came to the conclusion that my father's blue glow was responsible. It was, after all, something very clearly magical. Eager to make sense of the trick I crawled into his lap and grabbed his hand.

He just looked on with a bored expression as I prodded his hand with my chubby fingers. He had black fingerless gloves on and I pulled at the material to see if I could detect anything strange. When I couldn't, I leaned in and stared hard at his finger tip. Finally, after finding only the normal swirl of his finger print, I gave up and leaned back against his stomach.

Seeing that I was done with my impromptu investigation he freed his hand and reached for the remaining bottle. As he did so I noticed my hunger for the first time. From the placement of sun I guessed it was around one o'clock, the time I usually fed and took my afternoon nap. Babies are notorious creatures of habit and I was no exception. I greedily drank and gave in to the drowsiness that followed, hoping that when I woke up things would make sense again.

…

I woke up after roughly two hours, if I had to guess. My naps tended to be frequent, not lengthy. As I shook off the last of my lethargy I rolled onto my stomach. I was still on the blanket in the clearing and the sunflower I'd forgotten about was now next to my head. I smiled and reached for it with my tiny fist.

Just as I was about to grab it I remembered the events that had occurred before my nap. I snapped my eyes wide open and surveyed the scene around me. It was silent, with only the sound of a light breeze rustling through the trees. I was the only thing on the blanket – all the baby items had disappeared, aside from my stuffed dog, which I hadn't seen earlier. I was left alone in the gentle sunshine. Something about that made me uneasy, _then_ I recalled the fact that I was a baby and as such should not be left alone!

Gasping I scrambled to sit up and find my father. After a moment of panic I spotted him a few feet to my left and behind me.

He was sitting on the ground with his eyes glued to an orange book. Noticing my scrutiny he glanced up from the book and gave me the eye crinkle that I'd come to interpret as a smile. I couldn't help smiling back, though I wondered why he so hastily tucked his book away.

I was secretly a little embarrassed that I'd thought he'd abandoned me, but I chalked it up to the fact that I wasn't used to having a father. My insecurities regarding male role models were somewhat ingrained and I was having a hard time believing he could accept my existence with such ease.

The idea of having someone other than my mom there to take care of me was utterly foreign, but I couldn't help the fondness I already felt towards the strange man. I decided to showcase my only just-then-realized affection the only way I could, "Woof?" The stuffed dog was now hanging by its tail in my tiny fist.

He raised an eyebrow and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped. Honestly! Why wasn't he utterly freaked out by my strange behavior? Even someone who knew nothing about kids should have realized I understood too much at this point. My mom was one thing; she could be utterly clueless sometimes and chalked up my outbursts to infantile whims. Anyone else though, at least anyone with _sense_, would've noticed the moments of advanced thinking or reactions.

I studied the man a bit closer, without ceasing my smile of course, as he sighed in resignation and came to crouch in front of me.

_He seems like he _could_ be perceptive, though I could be very wrong and he could be even more oblivious than my mother… _I was interrupted from my thoughts when the man in question reached over to take the dog from my grasp with a bored expression. He held it in front of my gaze, "Um… woof?"

I promptly fell over laughing and gurgling. He was just so, so… ridiculous looking! He gave me a distinctly unimpressed stare and I pushed aside my mirth in favor of playing my favorite game. Regaining my composure I shifted to my hands and knees and started crawling to the dog in his hand.

I yipped and barked to the best of my ability and I swear his eyebrow shot past his hairline. Hehe… I'll admit it, it's kind of a weird game, but my mom loves it! She makes the dog "play" with me as I pretend to be a puppy myself. Anyway, I crawl rapidly towards the stuffed toy and nudge it with my head, "Ruff! Ruff!"

When he fails to make the toy respond I shoot him a glare and do my best impression of an intimidating growl. He sighs heavily, "Woof. Ruff. Grrrr…"

He's so unenthused that I roll onto my back to giggle uncontrollably. Who knew it was this fun to torture a practical stranger? He didn't seem truly annoyed though, if anything it seemed like he was faking it, but maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.

I picked myself back up quickly and made to rush the toy, which I still hadn't given a proper name. I just called him "Woof" – What? It's not like I knew any Japanese names anyway! Just as I was about to pounce on Woof he disappeared only to bop me on the head a second later. I froze, turning my head slowly I saw my father with his eye squinted in a smile. He seemed to be waiting to see how I'd react.

If I hadn't retained some of my memories I might have cried, looked confused, or laughed. All of those would have been within the realm of normal. Most babies my age would probably fail to see the connection that their parent was controlling the dog at all. I was not, however, your typical baby. I snatched the dog from his grasp, smiled sweetly, and swiftly chucked Woof at his head.

He didn't move for a moment and I feared I'd pushed him over the edge. I held my breath to see how he'd react. Less than a moment later he slumped and heaved his most exasperated sigh yet, "Was that really necessary?"

I snorted then took to cracking up in a mixture of humor and relief. By the time I was finished I was out of breath and feeling lighthearted. Kakashi was giving me an appraising look and waiting out my laughing fit. If I were paying a little more attention I might've noticed the suspicion in his eyes, but I didn't.

I finally calmed down, already feeling a tad worn out, though not enough to fall asleep again. Mid to late evening was my most active time of day. I glanced up and noted the impassive look on my father's face; he was clearly thinking about something. Deciding it was time to do my own thinking I imitated his look.

_Hmm. What to think about? My life I guess… It's pretty simple, boring even. Wait. How the hell am I okay with this? I'm almost 18(sort of)! Or am I really just a baby? But I seem pretty advanced, _I continued to argue with myself, _maybe I was supposed to forget my life by now._

I paused in contemplation. _Am I still Victoria? I don't even miss anything about my old life… The emotions disappeared just days after my birth. But I still remember how to read and write, not that it helps me much since I'm probably in Japan now. _

I halted mid-thought. _Japan? This place isn't exactly full of Asians; heck people have __**pink**__ hair here! And then there's the blue light… Can't be normal. I don't think I'm hallucinating either,_ I sighed heavily.

_I JUST DON'T KNOW! GRRRR!_

I looked up to make sure my new dad didn't notice anything strange about my expressions but he was still lost in his own thoughts.

Of course I'd already questioned my situation on multiple occasions. After less than two months in my new life I'd doubted I was in Japan. There were no Japanese people to back up that particular idea. Plus all the weird hair and eye colors made it hard for me to pinpoint where exactly I lived. For a while I'd thought that I was in some third world country since I never saw cars, but there were too many modern conveniences other than vehicles that made my theory implausible. The blue light was making it harder and harder for me to believe I was even on earth anymore, let alone any country I'd heard of.

I'd entertained the thought that I was in some new dimension, but I didn't think it would be a magical one! I cursed my wretched luck. Only I would get electrocuted only to be whisked off to some crazy place where people glow. It would be one thing if I were reborn without memories, now I had a lifetime worth of memories that would be utterly **useless** in this new world. _I'll have to push my idea of "normal" out the window if I want to stay sane and lead my new life._

I nodded to myself. Really, my only option was to just go with the flow. A new dimension-slash-world-slash-whatever wasn't that big of a deal compared to being reborn. As for the issue of being reborn with all of my old memories intact… Meh, I'd just have to use it as a blessing to get started on my new life. I mean, it may make it harder for me to accept all the weirdness but at the same time it'll help me get over all the hurdles most little kids face. At least, that's how I was going to look at it – I've never been one to pointlessly depress myself.

I was pretty impressed with myself. I'd thought all this and more on separate occasions, but this was the first time I'd felt so… resolute. I'll admit it. It's probably the fact that I now have a father that's made me so willing to accept the cards that fate chose to deal me. The chance to grow up with a male role model (especially one who had weird glowing powers) was too good to pass up over some lingering resentment and confusion. I died. It's about time I got over it.

I chose this moment to glance back at my dad, "Thank you!" He looked at me curiously and I pretended not to notice. He'd unwittingly just made my life a whole lot easier.


	7. Chapter 7

_Here's the next chapter! I want to take her childhood slowly though I don't know if I'll make it – I'm eager to reach the more exciting parts. Oh well, we'll see how it goes…_

**Settling In – **

All in all, I'd say my first day with my father was a success. After sitting together in the sunshine for a few hours he made my blanket and "Woof" _disappear_, handed me the sunflower, and walked me back to the apartment.

By the time we reached home I was anxious to see my mom. I had _never_ been away from her for more than a few hours and I was unusually eager to see her again. She must have felt the same because one minute Kakashi was raising a fist to knock on the door and the next she had flung the door open herself and snatched me up.

I let out a startled squeak, but relaxed when her familiar presence washed over me. It put me at ease immediately. With drowsy eyes I glanced back at the dazed figure standing just outside the door. It appeared that my mom had shocked him as much as she had me.

He abrupt cooing and 'Chidori-chan was a good girl right? Did you have fun sweetie? Did you miss mommy?' was a bit overwhelming. I just smiled back and out of the corner of my eye noticed that Kakashi looked distinctly uncomfortable. I shrugged it off – he'd get used to my mom soon enough if he was going to be involved in my life. Instead of worrying about it I snuggled deeper into my mom's warmth.

Now that I thought about it, it was strange how I felt this blooming warmth whenever I was with her. It was familiar but I hadn't ever noticed it before. I hadn't felt it with Kakashi, though I did feel a sharp sense of calm with tingling undertones. _Weird… is that a baby thing that associates sensations with people_? I pondered this as my mom practically dragged Kakashi into the kitchen, dropping me off on a blanket in the living room on her way.

"I was so worried! I thought you said you'd be back before six? It's nearly SEVEN!" My mom's voice carried from the kitchen to the living room and I smiled. She already seemed livelier and we'd only been back in her home town for two days.

"I got caught up in training exercises with my team and had to–" his (false) excuse was cut off by my mom's snort of disbelief. Apparently she could smell a lie, or maybe my dad was known for being an uninvolved teacher? He certainly didn't seem to pay any attention to his 'team' though I had assumed that was because of my being there.

As he tried to placate my mother I tuned the conversation out. There's only so much I can handle with the attention span of a hamster. Instead I chose to think over the weird things I had seen and heard. Aside from the magic scroll and my dad's mystical glowing hands I had seen weirder things. On our walk back there were people _jumping_ from building to building! Then, a random guy in the street had done something with his hands and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Deciding that fainting would be too cliché I had chosen to take it all in with no expression whatsoever.

_I'm definitely in a new, magical, world. There's absolutely no way this place is the earth I know; if people could do this I would have heard about it on the evening news! _I lay down on my back to continue thinking over the weirdness of it all. I entertained the thought that everyone around me was just part of some freaky science experiment, but then I remembered the journey I'd undertaken. There was absolutely no way this could be a secret experiment; it was too large an area – satellites would have spotted it if we were still on the earth I remembered.

I heaved a sigh. _Man, all I seem to do is sigh nowadays. _Having memories of a different world would make this so weird! _At least some things are consistent, _I thought as I looked around the room. It was a regular old living room. There was a cream colored couch with burgundy pillows and a dark brown coffee table right in front of it. A few pictures adorned the walls – mostly landscapes. There were two comfortable armchairs across from the couch and some sort of plant in the corner.

It was odd how this world was so similar to earth. Sure, nature was a little wilder and technology was less advanced, but there were still houses and stores and streets. The normalcy was only offset by the strange people who inhabited this world.

With my new resolution to accept my fate and live my life still fresh in my mind I made a vow to stop judging and comparing my new world to my old one. I needed to start learning. There was so much I wanted to do with my second chance!

I nodded to myself and could feel a small smile forming when all of a sudden I was being lifted into the air. "Chidori-chaaannn!" My mom sang, "It's time for bed!"

_I guess I can't do anything when I'm sleepy anyway. I still have time to live this new life. After all, I'm just a baby for now._

…

I soon fell into a routine. My mom worked four days a week, sometimes not returning home at all in that time frame. From what I overheard, she was doing missions. All of them fairly close and brief, though it didn't feel that way to me.

I was alternately given to my father or one of the many friends my mom had. Apparently, the three little monsters were "training" most of the time so Kakashi was free to watch me.

Mostly he just walked around with me or took me to his apartment, where I'd follow him from room to room. He only ever took of his mask at home and I wondered why he wore it at all. He wasn't deformed or anything. Personally, and this is from a purely platonic point of view, I thought he was pretty handsome. The only flaw he had was the scar covering his eye. He kept that eye shut most of the time.

Once, I had been curious and wanted to see his eye. I wondered if he was missing an eye, but his eyelid didn't seem to be sunken. He had been lounging on his couch with a magazine and I was on the floor with Woof. Deciding I could get away with it, as I was only a baby, I clambered up onto his lap.

He had to help me a little and soon I was sitting on his lap, staring straight up into his face. I reached my chubby hands up and gently prodded the scar. My coordination was shoddy, but eventually I managed to move my fingers to his eye. He gave me a calculating look and slowly opened his left eye.

It was _red_. I stared open mouthed at the crimson-colored orb; there were three black commas in his iris. I was shocked to say the least. As I fought to get over my own shock and confusion I noticed he was tense. _Does his weird eye bother him? Is he embarrassed? No, it's something else… Oh! _I exclaimed mentally. _He's wondering how I'll react! He's anxious!_

The thought made me feel warm. He _cared _about how I saw him. Determined to prove it didn't matter I cupped his cheek with my tiny hand and pronounce very carefully, "Kakasee looks cool."

He chuckled at my odd wording and gave me one of his squinty eyed smiles. The effect without the mask was comforting; when it was gone I knew for sure that he was smiling, not just closing his eyes.

The next thing I knew he was mussing up my hair, though it was already pretty mussed up anyways, and our evening went back to normal.

Whenever my dad was busy with his team and my mom was out on missions I was given to random shinobi and the occasional neighbor. The only people I stayed with were people my mom trusted utterly and completely. Even then she would threaten to murder them if they let anything happen to me. Everyone seemed to take her posturing with good humor.

My favorite babysitter (aside from my dad) would have to be my mom's old sensei.

***Flashback***

"Nara-sensei!" Cried my mother as a tall man with a ropey scar opened the door. I studied the man who'd been my mother's teacher and couldn't help the small grin that formed when he heaved a huge sigh. _Ahhh, a man after my own heart._

"Oi! Calm down Kaoru," he groaned as my mother crushed him in a one armed hug (I was on her right hip). "Didn't you say you had an important mission to get to anyway?"

My mom shrieked in alarm. "Shoot! I've gotta go!" With a hasty kiss goodbye she thrust me into the strangers hands and ran off.

The man heaved another sigh and glanced down at me. "'tch. Troublesome." All I could do was utter a small sigh of my own. My mother had been throwing me from stranger to stranger for the past few weeks. The sudden change had thrown me off. Before, she didn't seem to trust anyone to watch me, let alone hold me. Now, here in Konaha (I figured out the name in my second week here), she seems to trust everybody.

To be honest, I was miffed; instead of dwelling on it I just chose to accept it. I'd promised myself I wouldn't be a burden. Besides, my mom was much happier here than in our old town. I think she had felt somewhat trapped before.

After about a week in Konoha my mom's energy had doubled, something I didn't think was possible. Her smiles were so big it looked like her face would tear apart. She and my father got along surprisingly well –I could tell she still had feelings for him, but he was oblivious.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand, I was now being shuffled from stranger to stranger. This one though, was _supposed_ to be special. He was my mom's "teacher".

I was finding it hard to believe he had ever summoned the will power. Currently he was sitting on his back porch with me in the grass in front of him. I was laying down, twisting my fingers in the grass, when a new figure appeared.

The boy – for he was just a boy, no older than my father's students – strolled from the house onto the porch with his hands in his pockets. "Who's the brat?" he asked, his voice a bored drawl.

I turned my head to give him a half-hearted glare before I gave up and went back to my half-asleep trance. "Not a brat - 'm Chidori," I murmured before closing my eyes.

"She's a kid of one of my old students," said the elder Nara to whom I assumed was his son. "She's not as troublesome as she looks." He paused a moment, "Hatake Kakashi is her father."

I could see the kid whip his head back around to stare at me when he heard that. "I guess I can see that…" his thoughtful expression was replaced by a smirk. "Especially with that weird hair."

I didn't bother to feel offended – My hair IS ridiculous. So when he heaved a sigh nearly identical to his dad's and lay down in the grass beside me with his hands behind his head I just shrugged internally. We sat there for the rest of the day until I was collected by my mom. It was nice actually, not being expected to do anything at all.

From then on, I had two lazy day companions.

***End Flashback***

…

Things settled into a pattern and continued for a time. Eventually my dad's team's exams arrived. He seemed a little tense when he was alone with me the days leading up to the start, but he showed none of that tenseness in public.

As for me, I spent a lot of my time devoted to_ feeling_ things. You see, I noticed that the feelings I'd associated with my parents were not limited to them. All the so-called ninja had a distinct _feeling _to them. As I focused on it I was able to get the feeling even when I wasn't touching them.

While time continued to pass I could feel the same thing developing inside of my own body. Mine was jerky and erratic. It buzzed beneath my skin, much like my dad's. Days would go by and it continued to grow. Soon I was convinced it was electricity. That's what it felt like to me. Surprisingly this didn't bother me, despite my previous life's demise. In all actuality, my death was too sudden and painless for it to leave any lingering fear or anxiety.

Exactly two weeks before the Chunin exams I was able to manifest the energy under my skin. In my room, in the dark one night, I was able to send a little light blue-white bolt of static back and forth between my finger tips. It didn't hurt and I was thrilled with the new development. It was then that I realized I was using my very own chakra, just like my parents and the other ninjas had.

A part of me was thrilled – well, okay – _all_ of me was thrilled. How many times had I wished for cool super powers in my old life? The answer to that question was many, many times. Yeah, my new life was definitely not so bad. I was looking forward to the future.

It's really too bad how life always seems to get complicated right after you finally come to terms with the way things are going…


End file.
